DC University Students Walk Out in Protest of Federal Takeover

WASHINGTON (09-10) – “As we return to school, our city is under attack — Trump has sent the military to patrol our streets and ICE to take away our loved ones” is how student organizers from the FreeDC and the SunriseMovement framed a student walkout at four universities across Washington on September 9 in protest of President Trump’s emergency order last month for federal law officers, DC METRO police, and the National Guard to takeover security control of the capital city.

The walkout, unfolding throughout the day beginning with students at Georgetown University and followed later by students at Howard University, George Washington University and American University, saw students leaving their classes, rallying and marching in demanding that their schools collectively refuse to let the National Guard and ICE onto their campuses and in demanding that “Our university administration fight for its students by resisting cooperation with Trump’s goons every step of the way.”

After a brief early afternoon rally at Kogan Plaza on the George Washinton University (GW) campus, students marched to the on-campus home of President Ellen M. Granberg where, while occupying the street and repeating their demands, they faced her home holding signs and chanting for ICE to be barred from entering the campus, and for the university to declare itself a sanctuary.

Addressing Trump’s takeover of the city, speakers, including U.S. “Shadow Senator” for the District of Columbia, Ankit Jain (D-DC) elected in 2024 as a non-voting Senator, spoke regarding Trump’s “crime emergency” and the Republican legislative agenda composed of 13 different far-right criminal justice bills in the Senate that Jain described as making DC a “MAGA-Utopia.”

Among the bills is one that would remove Washington’s elected attorney general replacing him with a “Trump crony” who, Jain opined, “would not be going after big corporations on behalf of regular Washingtonians.” Another bill would “prosecute 14-year-olds as adults,” saying that they “…are not adults but do need to be held accountable for the crimes they commit in the juvenile justice system. They are using Washington DC as a testing ground for their far-right agenda.”

“What we need is for you to help us stop this right here in Washington, DC before they bring this authoritarian agenda across the rest of this country,” he continued. The good news he related, however, is that Republicans need a filibuster for the bills to pass which requires 60 votes, noting they have only 53 members in the Senate. Therefore, for any of these bills to pass, “they need Democratic support,” he said. “And we cannot allow that to happen.”

“We want all Democrats to vote NO on all these anti-DC bills,” and promising that he would be doing everything he can to stop Democrats from voting for the bills, he asked that all Democrats contact their representatives so as not to “Advance the Trump administrations federal takeover of Washington, DC.”

Jain urged everyone, no matter where they are from, to contact friends and family back home to help stop all anti-DC bills and to support Washington’s right to statehood and self-determination. He stressed that all of this was only happening because “Washington, DC is not a state.”

“Two hundred and fifty years ago, we fought a revolution to end taxation without representation and now nearly two hundred and fifty years later we are here still denying the residents of the capital city the right to vote even though we pay taxes, and we fight in the wars. DC statehood is the only solution.”

Denoting that Trump’s “fake crime emergency” is expiring, he stated that “DC Police must stop participating in the racial profiling, harassment, and kidnapping of people in our immigrant community. Local governments should not be complicit in racist attacks on people who look like they may be Latino or from an immigrant community. With all your help we can finally achieve DC statehood.”

The GW campus organizer for FreeDC opened saying “Today students across DC college campuses have walked out to demand non-cooperation from their administration in the face of Trump’s military operation” He called on GW President Granberg and the administration to “not cooperate with Trump’s occupation. We are demanding that they declare a sanctuary campus, and they assist immigrants and international students, and marginalized communities who have been disproportionally impacted by systemic racism and the military occupation.”

“We demand they preserve critical programs like DEI and research that the Trump administration and the Department of Education have been cutting.” Additionally, he expressed his group’s demand that the administration “stand up for student organizing and free speech and our activism on campus.” They also demanded on behalf of the student body that Mayor Bowser “not comply with Trump’s takeover.” The good news is that the 30-day federal takeover of DC METRO Police ends this evening. This as the deployment of the DC National Guard’s 950 troops in the city has been extended until November 30th.

And finally, the FreeDC spokesman demanded that “Congress end the state of exception…and the military occupation of DC.” The city in the meantime is suing the Trump administration for its “involuntary military occupation.”

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini

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